And now we come to the third wonderful fact we ask you to consider, and that is in this little land of Palestine was born the most wonderful man the world has ever seen.
At the outset this is most evident. It was His birth in the humble stable of the inn at Bethlehem that has divided time into two parts in the reckoning of the civilized nations of the world. For hundreds of years, day after day, millions upon millions have dated their letters, business men their correspondence, parliaments their statutes, as so many years since our Lord was born. The letters B.C. stand for Before Christ; the letters A.D. (Anno Domini, Latin, in the year of our Lord), stand for After Christ. This surely testifies to the very deep and profound impression that our Lord, crucified in shame and ignominy after only a very brief three-and-a-half years of public service, made on mankind.
And the story of the three-and-a-half years of public service is given to us in four brief gospels, that can be easily read through in a matter of four or five hours. Yet there is compressed within these few pages the story of the life of lives, not merely transcending every other life, but a life standing altogether by itself, unique and incomparable. A book is generally read once, it is a compliment if it is read twice, but what shall be said of a Book which has commanded a lifetime of earnest and reverent study by countless multitudes for many centuries, a study that has changed the face of the earth, and blessed for all eternity innumerable lives in every walk of life and in every country?
Who were the four writers who have presented us with the story of our Lord's life, succeeding in producing this most marvelous wonder of literature of all time? It has been most foolishly suggested that they invented the story of a life that was never lived. But to present a fictitious life of our Lord were a miracle exceeding that of a life actually lived on this earth. How could such a life be conceived? Impossible!
Certainly the four writers of the Gospels could never have invented the matchless Sermon of the Mount; the Parable of the Good Samaritan; the Parable of the Prodigal Son; the Story of the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for the sheep; the drawing aside of the curtain that veils from us the life to come, whether for weal or woe, as told in the story of Lazarus and the poor rich man, and the warning of the great gulf fixed. (Luke 16:19-3119There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:19‑31)). All these fell from the lips of the Son of God, and were recorded in the Gospels. Could this be fiction? Well did the late Theodore Parker, the well-known American writer, an infidel as far as the Bible is concerned, ask, " What man could have fabricated a Jesus?" He furnished himself the only true and possible answer, " None but JESUS."
It will prepare our minds to see the full answer to all "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.' (Matt. 7:28, 2928And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28‑29)).
Such was the faith of a Gentile. Our Lord's path was followed by a perfect stream of miracles.
He was the only One on whom the heavens opened, and the Father's voice was heard expressing His delight in Him. At His baptism at the hands of His forerunner, John the Baptist, the voice of the Father was heard, " And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:1717And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)).
Again on the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord's face shining like the sun, a rehearsal of the coming Kingdom, the voice from out of the cloud was heard,
No other has been saluted by the open heavens but Himself. How worthy was He!
When our Lord performed miracles He invoked no name as His authority for performing them. By way of contrast when the Apostle Peter cured the lame beggar at the gate Beautiful of the Temple, he said, " In the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk," and further took pains to tell the people that the miracle was performed not by his own power, but in " His [Christ's] NAME, through faith in His NAME." (Acts 3:6, 166Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)
16And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (Acts 3:16)). At the raising of Lazarus our Lord cried with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come forth " (John 11: 43). When the young man of Nain was being carried to his burial, our Lord
It is worthy of note that the name, Jesus, occurs over 600 times in the narrative of the four Gospels, and yet not once do the disciples address Him by that name. They address Him as Lord, Master, Rabbi. There is not a trace of familiarity in their approach to Him, though never was there one on this earth so approachable as He. Think of the woman that was a sinner, drawn into the cold, frigid house of the proud Pharisee because our Lord was there, and if the proud Pharisee did not offer Him water to wash His feet, the woman washed them with her tears of penitence, and dried them with the hairs of her head. She anointed His blessed feet, whilst the Pharisee had neglected even the bare courtesies of custom, and had neglected to anoint His head. Is there not a lesson in all this, that we should give to the Lord the homage of which He is so worthy?
We come now to the very vital and important question, Did our Lord claim more than manhood? Hear His own words,
" I AM the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die." (John 11:2525Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (John 11:25)).
A little examination of these Scriptures shows that the Lord used the two words, I AM, as the assertion of Deity. You may remember when Moses turned aside in the desert to see the wonder of a bush burning, and yet not consumed, the voice of the Angel of the LORD (most evidently God Himself), bade him take the shoes from off his feet for the ground on which he stood was holy ground. At that time the LORD commissioned Moses to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, an impossible task apart from Divine power. He said to the LORD,
" Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you: and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM bath sent me unto you." (Ex. 3:13, 1413And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Exodus 3:13‑14)).
When our Lord was about to be born into this world, the Angel of the Lord said to Joseph concerning Mary, his wife,
" That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1: 20, 21).
The name Jesus means JEHOVAH Savior. Likewise the Holy Child was called IMMANUEL, which being interpreted means GOD with us (Matt. 1:2323Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)). Our Lord clearly claimed to be Jehovah, the I AM of the Old Testament, when He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:5858Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58)).
At the end of our Lord's life at His trial before the Sanhedrim, the high priest asked him, "Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I AM." (Mark 14: 61, 62).
In the first Scripture beginning with the words, I AM, our Lord spoke of His coming down from heaven, thus claiming a pre-existence before He took upon Himself manhood. Further, that He gives His flesh for the life of the world points to His atoning death on the cross. In the second Scripture please note carefully the order of the words, " I AM the resurrection and the life." (1) " I AM " the assertion of Deity; (2) " the resurrection," then death must take place, to be followed by resurrection.
But then we may ask, Why should Christ die? The answer, all Scripture bears witness to, is that it is only through the sin question being righteously settled, by His atoning death on Calvary's cross, that life, divine life, can come to those who believe on the Lord. All who believe on the Lord Jesus receive the gift of eternal life. (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)). If a believer should die before the Lord comes at the first resurrection, at that time he or she will be raised from the dead and live. Those who are alive on the earth when the Lord comes shall never die, but live forever. This was our Lord's comfort to Martha, sorrowing over the death of her brother, Lazarus; comfort for all of us for all time.
Woven in the two Scriptures we have quoted there is an assertion of Godhead, along with manhood, and accompanied by an intimation concerning our Lord's atoning death and glorious resurrection, and the blessings that come to all those who believe on Him. We sometimes try to pry into mysteries that are beyond human knowledge. We are met by our Lord's own words,
" All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: AND NO MAN KNOWETH THE SON BUT THE FATHER; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." (Matt. 1:27).
The Lord's Person is necessarily inscrutable, and there we must leave it. The heresies that rent the early church all came from not acknowledging and acting upon this verse of Scripture. There are four very simple lines we do well to pay heed to,
" Say not, He did this as God,
Or He did that as Man;
Say rather He did this and that,
Who is both God and Man."
The truth of the Godhead and Manhood of our Lord runs through all Scripture. There is one Old Testament Scripture, which is very noticeable in this respect,
" Unto us a CHILD is born, unto us a SON is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, the Prince of peace." (Isa. 9:66For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)).
This is a most amazing Scripture. Who but an inspired writer would have dared to put down, what looks to us poor mortals, a contradiction, that a Child of days should be the Father of eternity, that the Babe in Bethlehem's manger was the mighty GOD. Yet this was the truth, upon which hangs all the blessing God offers to sinful men.
The New Testament furnishes an equally amazing statement,
What a Savior! What a Lord! What a wonderful Head of the Church, which is His body (Eph.: 23).
We have given but a tithe containing the truth of our Lord's Person as set forth in the Scriptures of truth, but enough surely to prove abundantly that there was born in the little land of Palestine the most wonderful MAN the world has ever seen. Yet ever remembering He was, " GOD... manifest in the flesh." (1 Tim. 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)), and that, " Christ came, who is over all, GOD blessed forever. Amen." (Rom. 9:55Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:5)).
How happy are we, if we can say, He is MY Savior and MY Lord; or like Thomas of old, convinced that the One standing before Him was indeed the risen Christ, with the marks of His atoning sufferings in His hands and side, who exclaimed with adoring worship,. " My Lord, and my GOD." (John 20:2828And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (John 20:28)).
Reviewing this pamphlet, we cannot do better than end with Dr. Panton's pithy and striking remark,
"Behold the Jew and believe your Bible.
How true this is! How challenging! What is your response? The responsibility of your answer lies with you. Eternal issues hang on your reply.
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